Should The Simpsons Be Sorry That They Said Judas Priest Is “Death Metal?”

The Simpsons is officially no longer the edgiest animated series on television–and we’re not just talking about how the show pales in comparison to modern hits like Bob’s Burgers or Archer. It used to be that The Simpsons cracked jokes at anyone’s expense without issuing any sort of apology. Now, however, the show’s writers are apologizing to Judas Priest fans for erroneously referring to the band as “death metal” on a recent show.

When Judas Priest appeared on the January 5th episode of The Simpsons, their fans weren’t actually happy. It turns out that the writers referred to their genre of music as “death metal,” and Judas Priest is (ahem) heavy metal.

The band itself didn’t comment or seem to care about the mistake. However, their fans took to social media to complain about it.

This week, the show’s writers copped an apology to Judas Priest fans by having Bart Simpson write, “Judas Priest Is Not ’Death Metal'” on the chalkboard in the opening credits.

True, The Simpsons’s gaffe showed that the writing staff knows nothing about metal, but the reference to death metal was in service to a joke about how “Swedes love death metal…it reminds [them] of death.” In past years, The Simpsons never backed down for a joke and were known for their edgy material.

What do YOU think? Should The Simpsons have apologized to Judas Priest fans? Does the mix up matter? Or is it vitally important that America understands the difference between death metal and heavy metal?